Foundation and Earth

Name: Foundation and Earth
Price: 8.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.5 (6359 reviews)
Author: Isaac Asimov
ISBN: 9780008117535

Isaac Asimov

4.5 out of 5

6,359 global ratings

The fifth novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series

THE EPIC SAGA THAT INSPIRED THE APPLE TV+ SERIES FOUNDATION

Golan Trevize, former Councilman of the First Foundation, has chosen the future, and it is Gaia. A superorganism, Gaia is a holistic planet with a common consciousness so intensely united that every dewdrop, every pebble, every being, can speak for all—and feel for all. It is a realm in which privacy is not only undesirable, it is incomprehensible.

But is it the right choice for the destiny of mankind? While Trevize feels it is, that is not enough. He must know.

Trevize believes the answer lies at the site of humanity’s roots: fabled Earth . . . if it still exists. For no one is sure where the planet of Gaia’s first settlers is to be found in the immense wilderness of the Galaxy. Nor can anyone explain why no record of Earth has been preserved, no mention of it made anywhere in Gaia’s vast world-memory. It is an enigma Trevize is determined to resolve, and a quest he is determined to undertake, at any cost.

About the authors

Isaac Asimov

Isaac Asimov was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was prolific and wrote or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. His books have been published in 9 of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.

Asimov wrote hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the Foundation Series; his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation series. Later, beginning with Foundation's Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified "future history" for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson. He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.

Jake A.

Another great book!

Reviewed in the United States on December 31, 2023

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I’ve enjoyed the Foundation saga and this is a great ending to Books 4 and 5. Ties into other Asimov books as well.

JimE

Foundation and Earth. Thought provoking and satisfying.

Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2017

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Science fiction literature has been part of my reading since my early teens. My earliest readings contained, by today's standards, relatively tame sexual interludes and of course assured my continued reading. Sexuality in this example of Asimov's writing is really quite tame, but would have kept the 14 year old me entranced. The adult me is impressed with the mature sexual attitudes taken in this story. Beyond all that Asimov provokes mature conjecture about humanity and profound philosophical conjectures about broad questions, not only of human governance, but also human interactions across different worlds and cultures. This book like many of his benefits from Dr. Asimov's excellent education and his being present at the cutting edges of physics and science during some of its most profound advances. He refers to things like the uncertainty principle in an off hand way that does require a bit from the reader. In summary, Dr. Asimov gives us very entertaining stories interspersed with thought provoking philosophy and sophisticated scientific references. It's a very satisfying book to read.

Jane Aire

Love this series.

Reviewed in the United States on October 6, 2023

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It’s a series that can be read over and over and never dull. The writing and storytelling are captivating and unlike anything else.

An Intriguing and Fast Paced Conclusion to a Fantastic Series

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2012

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Foundation and Earth picks up right where Foundation's Edge left of as Trevize, Perolat and Bliss continue their search for Earth. The entire story-line includes the famous wit found in all Asimov's novels but seems to pack in even more intrigue than normal as it slowly becomes clear that something even greater than the Seldon plan may be at play. The story is very fast paced making it difficult to put this book down and it stretches the imagination more than any of the previous books. Asimov uses this final book to tie in both the Robot series and the Foundation series as well as clear up many other questions left open in his prior novels. The result is a very satisfying conclusion the the Foundation series.

For those new to the series, here are the specific seven books tied directly into the Foundation story line and their original date of publication. I read these in the order they were published and was very happy to have chosen that order. Asimov also tied in some of this other book series into this one (specifically his Robot series) thus making the entire story line a much larger volume of books.

Prelude to Foundation (1988) Forward the Foundation (1993) Foundation (1951) Foundation and Empire (1952) Second Foundation (1953) Foundation's Edge (1982) Foundation and Earth (1986)